Air Display 'C*ck Ups'
 

I heard a story of a Harrier pilot who completely fouled up his display and nearly crashed his jet. Upon landing, was ready to 'cough' to his errors, but instead won the 'best display' award - although his 'mishap' didn't escape his Bosses who tore him off a strip.
Is this just urban myth - or did it really happen?
Are there any other stories of 'air show gaffes'?
http://z.about.com/f/wiki/e/en/thumb...arp.600pix.jpg

Its not all about having thrust, it's knowing when to use it :D

http://www.lindenhillimports.com/ima...0715%20600.jpg

I believe the driver admitted to the speed bleeding off a little too much before the vector roll, but hey, I couldn't figure out how to open the canopy on one of these things, never mind fly the beast. (I know my place :( ).

Video:

http://www.flightlevel350.com/Aircra...ideo-5332.html

Links to vids of T-Birds F16 (previous post)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481K61tdSVc (External view)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSEcXNwxBsk (Cockpit view)

(Link to official T-Bird PR vid: http://www.thunderbirds.acc.af.mil/06showtime.htm
"Stop it Mav, you're giving me a hard-on")

I heard of a Tornado that was due to dispaly at Duxford. He ran in and did his display perfectly but apparently he wondered why there were no cars parked around the airfield as normal.

Turned out he had done his whole display over Cambridge Airfield instead of Duxford.

Couple of years ago at Farnborough, was in the crowd waiting to see the B52 from Fairford do a pass, was much surprised when despite the commentators patter about looking to the left etc etc, no sign of said B52, however my surprise was nothing compared with that of the people at Blackbushe, when unannounced a bloody great big eight engined bomber sailed over at a few hundred feet.

Yonks ago an F111 did a [very] highspeed Low Level [below the Tower] pass at Manchester International Airport, and very nice too :ok:
Umfortunately eh shold have been at WOODFORD, 3 1/2 miles away :E
watp,iktch

Air Display 'C*ck Ups'
 

Found a pair of knickers in the back of my Lynx after a Wallop airshow one year, so I suppose there must have been some sort of c**k up there! :}

Did a show in a Nimrod in malta yonks ago - v2 climb out, lost my hamburger down the back during the rapid rotate (we was very light) - never did find it, but did put in a loose article report.....

doing a flypast along the runway at 'x' feet in a Nimrod at Fairford with QNH set instead of QFE gave quite a punchy arrival! and a peculiar feeling afterwards.......

When they opened the Gateway Arch in St Louis

http://www.slfp.com/030106/Arch_0752.jpg

part of the celebration was to have a skydiving demonstration, probably to fly through it. Well for some reason he landed on the top of it which was ok until a gust of wind took the canopy and blew him off into what became a fatal fall. Unfortunately his family was in the crowd watching.

:(

And of course there is the Harrier pilot who did completely foul up his display and crash his jet by moving the wrong lever!! :uhoh:

At least he got to the display! Where as the RIAT Harrier this year didn't :oh:

Must go, think my mobile is ringing...:}

A sobering one to read about was from 'Notes for Display Pilots', that fine compilation of good gen from the UK, about the Tornado pilot who extended at the top of some looping manoueuvre for positioning but kept the power in, therefore accelerating whilst level inverted and pulling down at a greater speed than he otherwise would have, and sadly not making it around at the bottom.

F4 - RAF Abingdon

Notes for Display Pilots

I do remember being at Farnborough in 1984 when the Buffalo crashed. They were demonstrating a short landing and landed, shall we say, a little firmly. The undercarriage/wing structure did exactly as designed and crumpled to absorb the impact, leaving the aircraft sat on the end of the runway as the crew sheepishly crawled out.

Which reminds me of the story, well before my time and it may be false, of the story of a Gannet crash.

IIRC the story went that they used to shut down half the Mamba and feather one prop to show how they could fly on one. They then tried to restart the other during a low pass and unfeathered the second prop, the engine did not start and the additional drag caused the aircraft to sink and touch the ground where it slid along till coming to a stop with the engine still roaring away. The crew then shut down, exited the aircraft and gave a wave and a bow to the crowd, before retiring in a dignified manner back to the squadron.....

Farnborough 1960s, when the Sunday show went out live on BBC
SAAB 105 does immaculate display, lands wheels up and slides to a halt, canopy opens, big Swede gets out, removes helmet and drop kicks it into the outfield. Raymond Baxter:"Oh dear, he looks a bit upset".:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLuF1BK4GtA

I recall on a 'proon' thread at the time somebody remarking that had the display been over land the driver would have wound up in the middle of a burning pile of scrap metal. (As it was I believe he suffered a broken ankle :uhoh:)

I believe the immediate first 'on ground meeting' of the pilots involved in the 2 x Mig 29's incident at RIAT was a tad entertaining....:E

B of B day at Wattisham in the mid 50's.

In preparation for the crazy flying display by a Chippy, the commentator built up a story about a prisoner who had escaped from a nearby jail, and was believed to be heading this way

Sure enough, at the right moment, a denimed figure burst from the crowd and leapt into the Chippy parked in front of the public enclosure. The guy who had been crouching in the other seat out of sight to the crowd, promptly fired the cartridge and away they went.

It lurched around a no more than 200ft for a while the commentator kept saying "oh dear he cannot fly" etc etc.

They then did a horrible flat skidding turn in front of the officers enclosure while the commentator said " oh, he's going to stall", and they did, "Oh, he's going to crash", and he did.

It hit the ground in a more or less level attitude, the undercarriage spronged off, the wings sagged, and a distinct kink appeared in the fuselage just behind the canopy.

As the dust settled the two guys got out and walked off, closely followed by the Groupie who did not look very happy.

The one time an Italian officer needs reverse gear and hasn't got one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDfW5ub_yos RIAT 2002.

Not so much of a c*ck up, more like structural failure. Crew of 2 and 29?spectators died.

This thread has the potential to amuse but I think we should try to avoid the fatalities if possible.

Yes agreed and apologies. I certainly had no intention of demeaning the accident. I was there as a child and actually remember the incident but was not aware it was a catastophic failure.
JC

During an air display in the good old days, back before the troubles in NI, a British Army Bell 47 lands near to crowd line, pilot gets out and begins a conversation with some spectators.

A little old lady, complete with umbrella, sneaks into cockpit and takes off. Crazy flying ensues, to the highly entertaining extent that tail rotor hits the ground and breaks. After a few pirouettes, the helicopter lands "after a fashion". All concerned somewhat embarrassed.

Group flying order book rapidly gets new order, on first page: "crazy flying is prohibited" - probably still there!

"Little old lady" later gets promoted and even becomes a squadron commander of a well known helicopter training school!

Same "LOL" is now a CAA Ops Inspector..... but "her" name is protected because I might have a check ride with "her" one day :ok:

Clophill (Bedfordshire) village fete and airshow in the early eighties (I think) - F-4 pilot misread the minimum height of 250 ft as 50ft, resulting pass at very high speed caused all sorts of consternation among assembled folk:} . A couple of years later, the USAF European F-16 display pilot succeeded in doing his entire display over a village about four miles away, in sight of, but frustratingly distant from, the viewers (who had to make do with the BBMF, Red Arrows, etc., etc).

GG

The world of parachute displays has produced many a splendid c*ck-up especially in the days of round canopies, which were far less steerable. One classic involved a young lady (later to be UK womens champion) jumping in silly winds, who missed the DZ and went straight through a bungalow's bathroom window. The owner, on hearing a loud crashing noise, went to investigate. Just as he was absorbing the sight of a stunned female lying in his bathtub with a collection of strings leading out of the window, the canopy, which was draped over the roof, sudenly reinflated and she exited as quickly as she arrived...

The parachute test team at Boscombe Down (all serving RAF PJIs and ex members of the RAF Falcons) were asked to to a display jump at a Boscombe Down's Families day.
To a man they missed their DZ on the establishment's sportsfield and landed on a school one half a mile away.:D

I remember the Phantom that burst a tyre on landing after a display and veers toward runway edge. Nav instantly elects on a Martin Baker letdown (they were always pretty nervous types) whilst pilot plugs in reheat, gets airborne again, and calmly takes it round the circuit for an unaventful landing. Crowd cheers pilot. Crowd jeers Nav.

Seems to have been a thing with the F-4 community? I was a young lad attending an airshow at Fairyhouse racecourse in Ireland, '84. A USAF RF-4C did a transonic pass at what felt like 50ft over the racecourse stands. Big blast of wind (mainly from the a/c!) and fluttering crisp packets. Also a lot of people with that 'under fire' expression you see on the news - eyes bulging in fear.

Another Irish airshow, Baldonnel aerodrome, '89 or '90 I think. New-looking Swiss AF F/A-18 does a nice display. Later in the show came the turn of the Spanish AF Hornet! Did a hair-raising series of manoeuvres finishing in four or five UNSCHEDULED touch-and-goes. I know they were unscheduled because the tower announcer sounded well annoyed and kept announcing each one as the last one, only to have the Hornet blast off into the sky again!

.

I saw this accident when I was a student. John Derry (of "Derry Turn" fame) had announced his arrival with a sonic boom before crossing the runway at a few hundred feet at high speed an pulling umpteen g. Just before crossing the runway the aircraft broke up. John Derry and his observer, still in their seats, hit the ground on the airfield. The two Avons followed a ballistic trajectory striking "the Hill" on which many spectators were gathered. Carnage. The display organisers, in order to distract the crowds and avoid panic, cleared Neville Duke, who was waiting to take off in his Hunter, to take off and do his thing. I think Duke and his Hunter held the air speed record at the time. He reappeared shortly afterwards in the lowest, fastest flypast I have seen either hitherto or since. Cool customer!
Analysis of amateur movies, frame by frame showed one of the wingtips to be the first bit to drop off the 110. All this was very much headline stuff in the era of the "battle with the sound barrier". A great tragedy - not a cock-up - although it was alleged that JD might have overstressed the DH110.

This accident was the origin of current air display rules governing distances and headings relative to the crowd line.

Another technical failure, but only amusing as no one hurt:
the Chinook at Abingdon losing a rear U/C leg whilst reverse hover-taxiing a few years ago.

Pictures on Airliners.net - search for ZA707

I was there for the F4 mentioned too - very sad. It was actually the day before the show, and the event was, obviously, cancelled.

To finish on a lighter note, again at Abingdon, the US Navy appeared one year. F14's and S3's. We, the techies, massed outside 'F' shed to watch them arrive. Now our hangar was around 2/3rds down the runway. S3 approaches from other end:

"he's a bit high"
"he's leaving it a bit late"
"he's a carrier plane, maybe he's taking the wire"
"nah - it's an oveshoot"
"oops" as said plane lands practically on the overshoot, continues across the grass, through a fence and stops on the Shippon road!

How he manages on a few hundred yards of pitching carrier when he can't land on a mile or so of runway escapes me!

Jagrigger
was also there to witness the Phantom in '88,and the S-3 Viking incident was earlier the same day....a local myth in these 'ere parts has it that the local constabulary slapped a parking ticket on the Viking as it sat across the Barrow Road awaiting recovery!!!!!!!!!!
Also saw the Chinook incident in 2005 when I was(and still am) part of the organising committee for the Abingdon Air & Country Show
Colin

dakk

F-4 bursts a tyre gets airborne again pilot "calmly takes it round the circuit for an unaventful (sic) landing"

Uneventful?

Are you sure, when did this actually happen?

Are we referring to the F4 which left the runway during a takeoff, nav jumped out, pilot got airborne and landed elsewhere. Almost the same story.

Think you'll find that this incident happened at Bournemouth.......

Not quite as described either, other than the nav did step out and the pilot then landed.....at Lyneham I recall. Must have been in the early 80s.

Aha....Background Noise....beat me to it:D

Just slightly off thread, but came across it while looking at one of the earlier clips and thought it might be of interest. It's HUD film of an F16 landing without an engine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkBSXW_KqyE&NR

STH

I'll get me coat!

AFM a few years ago now published a series of Pics of an GR5 Harrier display in Chile where the Harrier dispaly pilot came in for a touch and go and didn't select undercarriage down and slid up the runway in a shower of sparks very impressive

Not too sure of the exact date but I think it was in the late eighties.

I remember the video clip on BBC news. The pilot decided that it was better to get airborne again rather than departing the runway at 140kts. Nav decided to leave the pilot to it. Not sure if the lonely pilot took the aircraft somewhere else for a RHAG engagement but it did say the aircraft landed without further damage.

If it was going to veer off the runway because of a flat tyre on the first landing why didn't it do on the second?

MDK - perhaps the clever pilot, now knowing the problem, anticipated the effect a burst tyre would have and applied rudder/differential braking to counteract the increased drag of the burst wheel? :ok:

So what happens when the rudder becomes ineffective?